| THE BLOG

I know that I've always sucked really bad at replying to questions in PMs and stuff (though I try to reply to almost all NG reviews now), so I decided to just publically answer a couple common questions I've gotten...-------What inspires you?Music and lyrics inspire me the most. I always have it on when I'm writing or doing visuals. I think having a song on that tonally fits the scene that you're writing or creating can help focus it emotionally.That and just the desire to express myself. I've always done it, whether through writing or art or whatever, and always will.How do you come up with your ideas?I always start with the main character's arc, and then build out from there. For Phantom Reverse, for example, I started with a high school kid who feels guilty for something he had no control over. By the end of the story, I wanted him to overcome that and move on. From there, I built out everything - his back story, the paranormal elements, etc.Another example would be Dead Detention. It started with a helpless kid (Max) who was constantly saved by others. In the final moment, I wanted the helpless kid to be the one saving others. From there, came zombies and everything else.It might sound weird but I think it just works for me because I can apply different genres and stuff I like, while always having an underlying theme. I think it lets you get creative and weird (and meme-y), while still retaining a core relatable main character.Do you watch anime?Not really, but I use to a couple years ago. Faves were really dark and weird stuff like Death Note, FLCL and Steins;Gate.Were you inspired by <insert anime name here>?No, I don't think an anime has ever inspired a story or idea or anything like that specifically. Though I do want to do something in a similar vein to FLCL one day...maybe.What is Universe 08?It's the shared universe of my stories and games. It's about an organisation and cult called Clear Moon that worships Death as it's God...it's kinda dark :-DDo I need to play <insert game here> to understand <insert game here>?No, I intentionally do everything to work as a standalone story. I think of universe 08 as more of a backdrop for lore. While last year there were some stories that would bleed into others, I won't be doing that anymore.Why was the art so shitty?With Dead Detention I just started randomly doing literal scribbles, and for some reason ppl seemed to kinda like it. I don't know why, but it stuck a little. I'm actually pretty good at art and graphic design, though you absolutely wouldn't be able to tell from those projects lol (or anything I've uploaded online really.) I think with Phantom Reverse, and to an extent with Blue Lights, I've stepped the quality back up to being good-ish...or at least above "shitty." My next projects are going to slowly start representing my actual artist ability, and not just the low effort eye-bleeding shit posting aesthetic I'm kinda known for now...What are you studying?Graphic design. I was studying programming for a little over a year, but decided to change to something more creative focused. (Though I learned tonnesssssssssss from it)What's next?A standalone sequel to Alula Falling.Are you interested in working with me?Not right now - in this specific moment I like working by myself, though I am thinking of maybe starting a collab type thing wayyy down the line.-------Annnnnddddddddddddddddd that's all for nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww................................................(That felt very self-indulgent)PHANTOM REVERSE 6 WILL BE UP SOON-ISH HOPEFULLY MAYBE,HAVE A GREAT WEEK,JACK ASTRAL -

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Hi! I'm Jack Astral. I'm an indie game developer. You can read a tiny bit about me over here.